This invention relates to an agricultural granule which can be used as a pesticide and/or fertilizer carrier or diluent, and the method of producing the agricultural granule.
The agricultural granule is well known to the agricultural crop, horticultural, and animal industries. The agricultural granule may be used as a diluent where the formulation is the dilution of the concentration of pesticide down to a level at which is will be toxic to the pest, but will not cause damage to desirable life forms and natural habitats. To those individuals knowledgeable in pesticide formulary, an agricultural granule used as a diluent is defined as a material having a low or medium sorptive capacity and is chemically inert. The agricultural granule which is used as a carrier must be capable of carrying pesticide to the site of control without any losses and then release that pesticide for control. For the agricultural granule carrier to be effective it must have high liquid holding capacity. Most typically then, the agricultural granule, dependent upon the use requirement, can be derived from clay, corn cob, vermiculite, rice hulls, and pumice, which when reduced is comprised of distinct particles within the range of 4 to 80 mesh (U.S. Standard). The agricultural granule has many advantages, the least of which includes reduced application drift due to particle weight, ease of application with accurate control of rate and placement, and the safety to the applicator and others. Since its inception in the late 1940's, the agricultural granule form of pesticide formulary has become the most widely used and most versatile of the available pesticide products. Although much work has been conducted on the formulary methods of producing the finished pesticide granule product, little has been done on altering the nature of the granule itself and its action at the site of control. This is seen through the granule pH, cation exchange capacities, sorptive capacities and moisture content, where pesticide/inert incompatibilities occur, manifested in chemical decomposition, thus rendering the pesticide ineffective. To overcome pesticide decomposition, the granule must be chemically deactivated prior to incorporation with the pesticide.